GOMMERINGER TOP ROOKIE, FUNK TOP STUDENT-ATHLETE AT CANADA WEST AWARDS

Krista Gommeringer

WOMEN’S SOCCERTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012 CANADA WEST AWARDS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GOMMERINGER TOP ROOKIE, FUNK TOP STUDENT-ATHLETE AT CANADA WEST AWARDS

LANGLEY, British Columbia – Trinity Western striker Krista Gommeringer (Calgary) was named the Top Rookie in Canada West women’s soccer and Spartans keeper Kristen Funk (Calgary) earned top student-athlete honours while a total of six Spartans picked up all-star nods at the awards banquet Thursday on the Trinity Western campus.

Along with Funk and Gommeringer, Trinity Western defenders Jenn Castillo (Surrey, B.C.) and Colleen Webber (Calgary) and midfielder Natalie Boyd (Surrey) were all named Canada West First Team All-Stars while defender Nikki Byrne (Langley) was named a Second Team All-Star.

For the second straight season, UBC’s Janine Frazao was named Player of the Year while Regina’s Robert Maltman was named the Coach of the Year and the Victoria Vikes took home the Fair Play Award.

Rookie of the Year Krista Gommeringer stepped into the Trinity Western Spartans lineup this year and immediately made an impact. The first-year scored less than three minutes into her first ever Canada West contest and since then her play has been nothing short of spectacular. Gommeringer finished the Spartans opening weekend with four goals and one assist and was named the Canada West Player of the Week. From there, she not only scored in six straight games to start the season, but she also went on to lead Canada West in points, with 13 goals and nine assists. Her 22 points were just one shy of the Spartans single-season record and also had her five points clear of the conference’s second highest point-getter. She started all 12 regular season games and finished with three game-winning goals.

“Krista has been fantastic this season and showed throughout the year what a wonderful player she is,” said Spartans coach Graham Roxburgh. “Her leading the league in points demonstrates her ability to both finish her chances and to create chances for others. She has come into a top league and impacted our team’s ability to generate offence, which was a large contribution to our team’s success this year. It has been great to watch her put a stamp on our team and the league this year as she played an invaluable role for us this season.”

In her fifth and final year with the Trinity Western Spartans, Student-Athlete Award winner Kristen Funk not only had her most impressive statistical year of her university career, but off the field, she continued to be an excellent student and a servant in the community.

On the pitch, Funk, who was a CIS All-Canadian and Academic All-Canadian last year, led the conference in wins, with 11, shutouts, with nine, goals against average, at 0.33, and save percentage, at .895. She ends her university career atop the all-time conference wins list, with 43, and second on the all-time shutouts list, with 30. Her nine shutouts in one year also tied her for second most in Canada West history, with UBC’s Jaclyn Dunnett,

While her efforts on the field were certainly remarkable, off the field Funk has been a model student and has helped lead the Spartans efforts in helping the local community. Most notably, she has played a significant role in the lives of a group of Karen children – refugees from Burma – by organizing events, helping them with their homework or simply hanging out and caring for them. She also assists in coaching soccer in the community and was part of the Trinity Western women’s soccer team’s outreach and service trips to Paraguay, South Africa and Swaziland.

“Working with players like Kristen has been one of the great joys of coaching, and she is so deserving of this recognition,” said Spartans coach Graham Roxburgh. “Kristen is not only one of the best players in Canada West, she is also someone who has grown immensely in her leadership and desire to care for others. Her dedication and work with the Karen kids and her heart for them as people has been a great example of how one can impact the lives of others. Many of these young kids’ lives have been touched and enhanced, simply because she has been willing to take the time to be with them. For me, this is as important to her career as the legacy she has left on the field.”

Player of the Year Frazao, a fourth year student from Port Moody, B.C. was second in the Canada West in goals (13) and points (17), while leading the Thunderbirds to a 8-2-2 record and third place in the conference. During her career with the T-Birds, Frazao has scored 47 goals over four seasons. She was a First Team All-Canadian in 2011.

“Janine has had another very strong season for us this year”, said Thunderbirds head coach Mark Rogers. “To win back to back MVP’s is a real complement to the work she has done on the pitch for the Thunderbirds this fall. I know that Janine will be pleased to share this honour with her teammates who supported her in achieving this award.”

In his sixth year as head coach, Coach of the Year Bob Maltman has guided the Cougars to their most successful season ever. The team set program records for wins (8) and points (25) in a conference season and advanced to the Canada West Final Four for the first time after recording the first postseason victory in school history last Sunday.

“Bob has been relentless in his desire to see the University of Regina women’s soccer program succeed, both on and off the field. I am extremely pleased that his dedication has been recognized by his coaching colleagues across the conference,” said University of Regina Athletic Director Dick White.

Following is a list of 2012 Canada West women’s soccer Awards & All-Stars:

AWARDS

Player of the Year: Janine Frazao, UBC

Rookie of the Year: Kristen Gommeringer, Trinity Western

Student-Athlete Award: Kristen Funk, Trinity Western

Coach of the Year: Robert Maltman, Regina

Fair Play Award: Victoria

ALL-STARS (alphabetical by position)

First Team Second TeamGoalkeeper Kristen Funk, Trinity Western Stephanie Parker, Victoria

This weekend the Trinity Western Spartans host the Canada West Final Four, November 2-3 in Langley, B.C. The UBC Thunderbirds and Victoria Vikes play in one semifinal, while the Spartans and Regina Cougars play in the other. The final goes on Saturday and semifinal winners CIS host Victoria and the winner OR runner-up if Victoria wins gold this weekend advancing to CIS Nationals.

Major award winners now become finalists for Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national awards, to be handed out at the end of the season. The 2012 women’s soccer national championship will be hosted November 8-11 by the University of Victoria Vikes.

About Canada West Universities Athletic AssociationCanada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year, 1997 to 2010. Comprised of 16 schools from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada West produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games. "cwuaa" on Twitter.